"Dark Eyes" (Russian: Очи чёрные, romanized: Ochi chyornye, lit. 'Black Eyes') is a well-known and popular Russian romance (sentimental art song). The lyrics were written by the poet and writer Yevhen Hrebinka and first published on 17 January 1843. The melody associated with the lyrics has been borrowed from the "Valse hommage", Op. 21 for piano, written by Florian Hermann and published in 1879.
The Russian singer Feodor Chaliapin popularized a version of "Dark Eyes" with changes to the lyrics and additional verses. Another popular version was written by the Italian-born British composer Adalgiso Ferraris, and first published in 1910 as "Schwarze Augen" ("Black Eyes"). The song became one of his major successes in the 1920s and 1930s; his version was played by Albert Sandler and Leslie Jeffries in 1939, and sung by Al Bowlly, with lyrics by Albert Mellor, as "Black Eyes" in 1939. Max Jaffa also recorded a version of the song in 1967.
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